


Always There for You

by SanityisOverrated



Series: 30 Day Prompt Challenge [2]
Category: The Avengers (2012)
Genre: Cuddling, Day 2: Cuddling Somewhere, Like hell am I able to write 30 consecutive prompts, M/M, Prompt Challenge, it'll be sporadic at best
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-03-13
Updated: 2013-03-13
Packaged: 2017-12-05 04:38:14
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,267
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/718968
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SanityisOverrated/pseuds/SanityisOverrated
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Prompt: Cuddling. I took it a bit further than I thought... I mean, how do you hope for 500, and end up with almost 2.5k words? Yeesh. The things this fandom does to me.<br/>Takes place after Avengers, Tony and Loki have been in a secret relationship for a couple months.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Always There for You

**Author's Note:**

> Ack. Ok. This is for my bestest bud, who started her own challenge and inspired me to give it a shot. Unedited, so if you catch anything major, please let me know! Enjoy ^^

Just because Tony was Iron Man, didn’t mean the kidnappings just stopped. Granted, there were very few times they caught him off guard without an Iron Man suit on him or able to get to him, but this one day was one such day when he was caught completely off guard. This wasn’t the first time he had been kidnapped after coming out as Iron Man, but it was the first time he had been kidnapped since taking a god as his lover.

It was months after the Invasion. Loki had recently been brought down by Thor to regain his honor and prove his worth, after Thor had explained that Loki had been under another’s thrall the entire time. It wasn’t hard, after getting Clint to look at security tapes, to see the similarities, especially after they saw Loki for the first time.

**_One year ago..._ **

“I thought his eyes were blue?” Cap murmured in confusion, watching a surveillance video Thor had urged him to watch. Clint’s mouth tightened.  


“Damn. I didn’t want to believe it, but that’s just all the more proof that he wasn’t in his right mind.” He muttered to them. Tony felt something ease inside him. A second later, his mind had gone in a completely different direction as he took in the god before him.  


“He also had a lot more leather on last time we saw him.” He noted.  


“Yeah, Thor said he wanted it to be as inconspicuous as possible, so they borrowed some clothes from Jane.” Natasha said quietly, always knowing things before them.  


_‘Some pretty spectacular looking clothes, if you ask me,’_ Tony thought to himself before shaking his head and reining his thoughts in. He’d only been broken up with Pepper for the last two months it would do him no good to think like that now.  


It was only in retrospect that Tony would laugh at that. Right now he was being tied up and was just tired of all this shit. No matter what he did, he couldn’t contain the flashes of memory, of dust and hot sun, sand gritty in his mouth, pain everywhere, no matter what he did. He’d never asked for the memories. Would gladly have washed them away, forgotten them, if he could’ve. As it was, he’d suppressed a great deal of the more inconsequential ones.  
But that was in the past. It looked like they just wanted money, and were now filming to prove they had him, and demand a ransom. He winced and hoped it didn’t freak Pepper out too badly.  


They finished filming and proceeded to high five each other. One motioned to him and before he knew it, he was being knocked around. He was rather grateful to sink into darkness after a blow to the head.

_Stark Tower_

“Steve? STEVE!” A voice called out urgently.  


“Yes ma’am?” Steve answered. Loki watched from the shadows as Pepper appeared in the living room where Steve was watching a movie.  


“Steve, you... you need to stop that.”  


Steve and Loki both paid more attention at hearing that tone from Pepper. It only came with really bad news, and after being there for about a year, Loki knew it as well as anyone did.  


“What is it, miss?” Loki knew the formalities were just that, a formality. They both thought they were so clever, hiding the glances and barest touches, but Loki was good at not being seen, and had seen it happen more than once. He smirked.  


“Tony..” Her breath caught in a half sob. Loki tensed at the mention of the man who had been his lover these past months. After all the betrayals he had been through, as much as he hated to admit it, this mortal man was cracking the ice around his heart.  


“Tony’s been kidnapped.” Pepper finished. “They sent a ransom video just a couple minutes ago.”  


In those few moments after Pepper said Tony had been kidnapped, Loki felt the ice around his heart give a solid crack. If the ice prevented him from caring, then it was well on it’s way to melting, because he couldn’t bear the thought of the man dying or being harmed at the hands of careless strangers. The contraption in his chest was worth quite a lot, he knew, and if they were demanding a ransom...  


“Where is it? Show me the video.” He demanded, striding out from the shadows. They had kept their relationship secret, quiet, and no one knew. If keeping him safe meant the team saw their friendship for what it had become, then so be it.  


“I have it, right here.” Pepper said quietly, looking at him with wide eyes.  


“Would you play it?” he requested softly, knowing to tread softly.  


“Why?” She demanded.  


“The quicker I find them, the less they suffer.” He offered her a smile, that was more him baring his teeth than anything. She raised an eyebrow at that, and oh, he really did admire her spirit. She turned to put the disc in the player and they gathered around the screen.  


Loki was disgusted with the level of ineptitude they displayed, both with their equipment and how they handled Tony. He could tell it was him, even with a bag over his head, and partially covering his chest. He took in the surroundings, and quickly ran through a list of spells he could use. Deciding on one, he nodded to himself and took a step back.  


“I shall be back with Tony soon. He might need some medical attention, I would advise you to be prepared for that.”  
And with that, he muttered the spell quickly and quietly before vanishing.

* * *

  
Tony came to with a start. Nothing was ever as bad as Afghanistan, but all the same, his heart gave a jump and started up a nervous, fluttering beat. He inhaled sharply at the feeling, and then remembered the breathing exercises he had gone through after he got home from Afghanistan. He went through those, and then sat quietly, letting the memory of the last few days flood through him.  


He had been pacing his suite contemplating what he had with Loki, the damn god of _mischief,_  when it suddenly occurred to him that there was a coffee shop down the street. He could simply call for one, but with the direction his thoughts had taken, he needed to move, breathe in the sordid, polluted air of New York.  


Once outside, he quickly made it to the shop on the corner and distractedly ordered himself a coffee, dismissing the stares he was getting.   


“Mommy, it’s Iron Man!” A little kid said excitedly, tugging on her shirt to get her to look.   


“Yes, yes, Tommy, stop that.” She said distractedly, not seeing Tony and clearly not believing Tommy. Tony offered a wink to the kid and watched with amusement as he squeaked and got a look of idol worship in his eyes. His name was called, and he went to pick up his coffee, seeing Tommy’s mother jerk her head up after hearing his name come from the baristas mouth.   


He walked out of the shop laughing to himself at the fact that he had shocked her so much her mouth was left hanging open. That was when shit hit the fan. A van pulled up with a screech, and masked  men got out, pointing guns at him. He sighed and thought mournfully of his coffee. And the fact that he shouldn’t have been so stupid, but that wasn’t a thought he could afford to get distracted by now.   
He was quickly herded into the van, which stank, and then, unsurprisingly, knocked out. 

* * *

  
The door to his cell rattled, and was opened. Tony strained his neck to glimpse as much of the outside as possible before it was closed behind the man who had walked in.   


“So you are Tony Stark?” His captor asked, with an accent. Tony rolled his eyes and scoffed.  


“Do you always ask questions you should know the answer to?”   


It earned him a smack across the face. His head jerked around with the force of it, and he felt blood start trickling from a cut inside his mouth. He spit it out at the man derisively.   
“I’ll teach you to regret that, you skurvysyna.” the man bit out with a snarl. Tony grimaced and kept the thought that they were using him for ransom on the forefront of his mind, knowing that he would at least need to live through whatever happened next.   


The next hour wasn’t as bad as he thought it could’ve been. Oh, sure, he was covered in blood, and was in agony, but hey, he was still alive and hadn’t had to be brought back from the dead once. He counted this as a plus.   


There was a yell, and then gunfire came from outside. The man halted next to the table with his tools and then abruptly turned to go see what was wrong. Just as he reached the door, it flew open, and knocked him down. Tony tried to push his chair away, but all he did was knock himself over, making him unable to see who or what had come in.   


“Tony?” A voice called. The man in question felt himself freeze from shock. It couldn’t be... but it was. Loki appeared in his line of sight and he was quickly picked up and untied.   


“I will _destroy_ them for what they have done to you.” Loki snarled, seeing the blood and bruises all over Tony’s face.   


“I’d really rather just get out of here,” Tony said almost feebly. Loki looked at him and his expression softened for a moment.  


“Of course.” He said, although Tony could tell he wasn’t content to just leave them.   


“Who do you think you are?” The man in the corner spat after coming around. A glint entered Loki’s eyes, and frankly, Tony wasn’t inclined to stop him from whatever notion he’d gotten in his head.   
“You.” Loki spat. “You harmed him. I can see his blood on you. For that, you shall pay. You shall experience every lash you have ever laid upon someone as if it were being done to you. I bet you won’t enjoy that.” He snarled. His hands were suddenly glowing and he pushed the light towards the other man. It floated across the room and surrounded him.

Tony watched through a haze as it sank into him, briefly flashing brightly, before the man started screaming.   


Loki turned back to Tony with a savage smile. “And with that, I think I ought to take you to the Tower. The team is waiting, I’m sure.”  


Tony reminded himself to get the story from Loki when he was able to think. At the moment he was content to float on the mist that was slowly pulling him away.  


“Tony? Tony, stay awake, damn you.” He heard Loki hiss faintly. There was a curse and he felt sensation warp around him. After that, he knew no more.  
\------------------------------------------------------------------------  


Loki turned around after using the spell, feeling his blood sing in his veins. “And with that, I think I ought to take you to the Tower. The team is waiting, I’m sure.” His smile faltered when he saw how pale Tony was.   


“Tony? Tony, stay awake, damn you.” Loki heard himself tell the man, but his mind was already analyzing the mortals condition, and he realized it wasn’t good. He kneeled and placed his arms around the man who had breached the walls around his heart, and closed his eyes. They were at the Tower within seconds, appearing within the living room.   


There were a couple shouts and curses when they appeared, but Loki paid them no mind, eyes searching.  


“Bruce, please, I think he’s lost too much blood.” Loki whispered desperately. Bruce nodded sharply and then everything was awhirl around them. Loki could only stand and watch as they found something to make do as a stretcher and carted him downstairs where Bruce had prepared a medical bay for them all.  


“Brother, you have done well today. Do not fear, I am certain friend Tony will be himself soon.” Thor said, coming up behind him and clapping a hand on his shoulder. Loki could only pray he was right.

* * *

  
  
Tony woke up feeling warm and pleasantly secure. He shifted and winced, then identified the reason he felt like he was bound to the bed. Loki was in the bed next to him, wrapped around him with a grip that refused to let go. He stilled as the memories flooded him, and he shifted so he could look at the god who was refusing to let go of Tony, even while asleep.  
After a couple minutes, Loki stirred and opened his eyes. Seeing Tony was awake he sat up quickly.   


“Tony. How are you feeling?” He asked quietly. Tony took in his rumpled appearance and smirked.  


“Fine. Sore, tender, but I’ll live. I’ve had worse.” Tony said hoarsely. He saw Loki grimace at that, and wondered. He was distracted by Loki getting up and going to the bathroom.

He came back with a glass of water and Tony drank it all. Loki watched him all the while, with an expression on his face that Tony would’ve been hard pressed to name.   


He handed the glass back, but Loki just stayed there.  


“You know, I can’t read minds.” He said with a grunt as he lay back against the pillows. Loki smiled a bit at this, then sighed.  


“Tony, do you like apples?”


End file.
